


The Paris Years

by Edollhouse



Series: Burnt [1]
Category: Burnt (2015)
Genre: F/M, Friends With Benefits, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, One-Sided Attraction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2020-10-05 04:37:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20482991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Edollhouse/pseuds/Edollhouse
Summary: Back to a time when they could only dream of such a thing as going for a third Michelin star. The five friends work hard in Jean-Luc's kitchen and spend late nights at Le Saint Sauveur. Works as a prequel to my "The One You Call".





	1. The Philosophy of Sex

**Author's Note:**

> There is a French-English translation at the end of the chapter

“Max!” Reece greeted with a tired but happy smile, and Max nodded with a raised glass at him. As he walked over, Reece took a look around in the dimly lit room. The bar was almost empty, which wasn’t strange since it was 1.30 am on a Wednesday night. Behind the bar was David, who always seemed to get stuck with the late night shifts during the week, and in the corner was the old man who seemed to be living in the booth where he was half sleeping. It felt good to be in what had become the guys’ second home after the kitchen. “Bonsoir.” He took a look around. “Michel est où?”

“Avec Sophie,” Max answered casually, emptying his glass and signing for the bartender for three more. Not that they knew any Sophie, but Michel, born and raised in Paris, probably did.

“Et Adam?” Max gave him a shrug, which meant that there had been a girl, who had remained nameless, or a drug dealer who would also remain nameless, or possibly both. Usually these people remained nameless even for Adam. Reece smirked and sat down next to Max by the bar. “So who’s the third one for?” He nodded towards the glasses, too tired to keep the conversation in French. 

“One for me, one for you, and one for . . . the little guy.” Max looked over Reece’s shoulder with a grin, and Reece turned around to see the youngest member of their crew coming out of the men’s. They hadn’t known each other for very long, but after Jean-Luc had expressly told the four junior chefs not to get the young boy into any trouble, Adam had thought it a fun idea for Tony to join them. Since then he was often tailing along and he had become a bit of a group mascot. He was younger and smaller than the rest of them, and Adam had instantly started calling him ‘Little Tony’. The nickname hadn’t really settled yet, mostly because Reece and Michel thought it silly, and Max thought that ‘little guy’ was close enough. 

“Hello, Reece,” Tony greeted and nodded a thanks to Max as he picked up his beer. “What did Jean-Luc want to talk to you about?” The reason Reece was late was that Jean-Luc had asked him to stay behind after service. 

“Oh, just some ideas for the menu.” Despite his cool tone, all three knew the significance of being asked to stay behind. Though he hadn’t said anything about it, Max knew it was the main reason Adam had disappeared so quickly with that girl. Couldn’t bear the smile on Reece’s face when Jean-Luc had asked him to stay. “He let me try some of the new wines too. Told me you helped picking them out. Good choices.”

“Thank you.” Tony’s cheeks became slightly red as he hid his face with the beer glass. 

Reece threw Max a smile and then turned back to Tony. “So you haven’t disappeared into the night then?” The younger man looked a bit confused, but then shook his head.

“Not for people’s lack of trying,” Max almost gleefully informed Reece. “Adam promised us that he and that blonde would have the best night Paris had ever seen. Asked us to come along.” 

“What, and you didn’t say ‘yes’?” Reece smirked and Max gave him a look that said that they both knew where Adam would most likely end up tonight. Reece turned to Tony. “Either of you.”

“We stood firm,” Max declared with mock pride and then gestured at Tony. “He’s a romantic, like me.” 

Reece laughed. It had become a thing that the four of them acted as though they were taking Tony under their wing and competed who managed to have the most influence over him. He patted the stool next to him for Tony to sit down. He was sitting turned to it, so that when Tony did the same, their knees were almost touching. “Did you know, Tony, that within this little marauder gang of ours, you can find the three different philosophies of who you should have sex with?”

Tony blushed again, but Reece gave him a light pat on the knee to tell him he was not trying to mess with him, but was just having a bit of fun. “It’s true,” he continued. “You have Max here, who can only think of his principessa.” They had all heard a million times about Max’s girlfriend back in Florence. They also knew that he wasn’t always the faithful knight he aspired to be. “Then you have Michel, who seems to know half the girls in Paris and whenever he has sex, it’s always with ‘a friend’. And then you have Adam, who only shags strangers.” Reece laughed at his own analogy and Max joined him. “So now the question is, which philosophy is you, stranger, friend, or principessa?” 

It was all jovial enough, but without really knowing why, Reece could feel tension building. Tony didn’t know what to answer, whether to laugh or tell Reece to fuck off. Max had stopped laughing and he gave Reece a small nudge in the back. “Il préfère les mecs, non?”

Reece threw him a look, trying to hide his surprise, and Max just nodded. Not that he found Tony’s sexuality particularly interesting, he just thought that Reece should get his facts straight. Reece nodded back and then turned back to Tony with a big smile. “Les mecs ou les filles, ce n’est pas la question. Les étrangers, les amis, ou les princesses, ah, les princes?”

Tony was now completely red and took a look around to see if anyone had taken an interest in their conversation. No one had. Max took pity on him and rolled his eyes. “No wonder they say the English makes such poor philosophers.”

“Oi, I’m Welsh,” Reece corrected him, to which Max just laughed.

“Speaking of princesses. I’m going to go home and dream of mine.” As he walked past Tony, he put an arm around his shoulder, turning to Reece and sending him a half warning glance as he passed on some words of wisdom. “If he gives you a hard time, little guy, punch him between the eyes. That makes most people stop. À demain!”

“Night, Max,” Reece said, still looking at Tony, who could only manage a small nod and a wave. Reece placed a hand on Tony’s knee. The new wines had been great and he was getting a bit tipsy. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. Have you had any sex since you came to Paris?”

“Sorry, was that meant to make me less embarrassed?” Tony asked with a mixture of laughter and annoyance. “Of course I have!”

“Ah, so no prince back home then. So what do you prefer, friends or strangers?”

“Well, friends, I suppose,” Tony finally answered. 

“Good, me too, friends should help each other out, even in that regard, especially in that regard.” He finished his beer. “Do you want another one or do you want to head?”

“I should go home and sleep.”

They had barely made it out on the dark empty street when Reece put himself before Tony, making him stop in his tracks. “So was Max, right? You’re into guys?” 

Tony looked up at Reece, trying to read his face. There was no trace of mocking or condemning. He knew Reece was Catholic, but then so was he, and Max seemed to know and not have any problems with it. 

“Oui,” he answered, letting the one syllable sing with defiance, daring Reece to react. Reece’s smile widened. 

“Bon, moi aussi,” he said and leaned forward. “And I’ve already told you about my thoughts on friends . . . If I try to kiss you, will you try to punch me between the eyes?” Tony wetted his lips and then shook his head. 

The kiss only lasted for a couple of seconds before Reece leaned back. 

“But no boyfriend back home?”

“No . . . Jean-Luc says we don’t have time for relationships.”

At that Reece laughed out loud. “I guess he wants some excuse for having three ex-wives.” But then he turned serious and almost husky. “You want to go home to mine?”

Tony looked up at him. It all happened so quickly, but they were friends, he liked Reece, who wasn’t a bad looking guy, so why not. He nodded and they made the ten-minute walk to the flat Reece shared with Adam. It was more due to practicality and rent than friendship, but also a sort of ‘keep your enemies closer’ strategy from them both. There was a small hallway with shoes thrown about and more jackets than it could fit, leading into a kitchen with pans, pots and dirty china everywhere. Then there were three doors, one clearly leading to a bathroom and the other two Tony assumed were the bedrooms. Reece watched Tony eyeing the place. 

“Excuse the mess. It was Adam’s week to clean about a month ago, and now we have a bit of a cold war situation going on.”

Reece led Tony through the mess to a small but tidy bedroom, and sat down on the single bed, dragging Tony with him. Clothes came off between kisses, and they both revelled in touching more and more skin. Soon they were completely naked, entwined, and their breaths were getting heavier. Tony was on his back, kissing Reece’s chest and letting his hands roam over his back and down his stomach. Reece moaned and continued stroking Tony with one hand while the other reached under the bed for the lube and a condom. At the sight of the things, Reece could feel how Tony froze. 

“You ok?” Tony nodded, but he eyes flickered and the lube and condom were placed on the nightstand. A firm, but gentle hand cradled Tony’s face and made him look back at Reece. “You’ve done this before?”

“I’ve had sex,” Tony quickly replied, again slightly defensive, but then he swallowed. “I just haven’t . . .”

Reece nodded. “Right . . . Do you want to?” He studied Tony carefully, but decided that he couldn’t have had that much to drink, and was sober enough to make that decision. “It’s ok if you don’t,” he added, feeling he should say it. 

“I want to.” Another quick reply, but his eyes wavered again. “It’s just . . . Could we, could you, eh . . .?” 

This had not turned into the night Reece had imagined. It was fine though. He had a really good-looking guy in his bed and they were about to have sex, but he could sense Tony’s worry. There was also a part of his brain wondering what the hell he was doing. What would Jean-Luc say if he found out that Reece had taken his old friend’s son to bed? He quickly shook it off, leaned down and pressed his forehead against Tony’s, wanting to make him feel so good.

“Could I what?” he mumbled and kissed him again. Tony didn’t answer, just pulled him closer, deepening the kiss, but Reece’s sense of responsibility had awoken, not wanting to pressure Tony into anything, and he leaned back enough to talk. “Tony,” His breath was heavy. “I really want to have sex with you, but if you want to, I need you to look at me and say it.”

He could feel Tony relax. The younger man took a deep breath, and then looked straight up at him with a steady gaze. “I want to do it with you.”

“Good, now where were we?”

He was very careful, much more so than he had ever been with a previous partner, and despite initial discomfort, Tony had urged him to go on. Soon the younger man was moaning under him. 

When they were finished, it was early morning and Reece told him he should stay. “It will give you at least another 30 minutes of sleep.”

“Well, what about . . .?” Tony threw a look at the bedroom door. 

“Believe me, we would have heard him if he’d come back. He’ll wake up in some girl’s bed and be 20 minutes late for work tomorrow. Come on, we can still get a couple of hours’ sleep.” He urged Tony back under the cover and put an arm around him so that he wouldn’t fall out of the narrow bed. 

“Do the others know you’re gay?” Tony almost whispered and Reece placed a soft kiss in his hair.

“I don’t think they think I have much sex at all, a combination of being a good Catholic and hard working.” It wasn’t really an explanation, since they were all hard working and at least raised Catholic, and it didn’t answer at all if they thought he was gay or not. But maybe Reece was the most hard working one, and he was the only one part from himself that he knew actually had attended mass since he started working for Jean-Luc.

“I didn’t know you were gay,” Tony stated, pushing slightly. He remembered a couple of months ago when Reece had seemed to be dating Rebecca, one of the waitresses. 

Reece let out a half-chuckle. He had switched between labels a couple of times and even if bisexual maybe came closest, he rarely dwelled on it. “Mm, no, as I said, people rarely think much about my sex life and that works for me. I was . . . wondering about you, but I thought maybe you were just metrosexual,” he joked and placed a kiss on Tony’s temple. “When did Max know about you?”

“I-I don’t know.” But he could guess. Max had caught him staring at Adam one too many times. He hadn’t said anything, just smiled and winked at Tony, who had blushed and looked away. It was also almost certain that Max had seen him flirt with one of the delivery boys the other day, a handsome Greek guy who had told Tony that if he wanted to, he could show him the best outdoor club in Paris. “It’s not like I’m trying to hide it.”

“No? So it’s out and proud and pride parades?”

“I don’t walk in pride parades . . . Papa caught me in bed with a guy about two years ago. He was fine with it. Didn’t see the point in trying to hide it after that. Most people I meet eventually get it.” Then he looked almost worried and looked down at the sheet. “I’m not going to tell anyone about this,” he promised. 

Reece took hold of his hand and pressed it to his lips. “You tell whoever you want.” He looked at him, the younger man, so cocky and yet so insecure. “But if you don’t want to tell anyone, that’s fine too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonsoir = Good evening
> 
> Michel est où? = Where is Michel?
> 
> Avec Sophie = With Sophie
> 
> Et Adam? = And Adam?
> 
> Il préfère les mecs, non? = He prefers guys, doesn't he?
> 
> Les mecs ou les filles, ce n’est pas la question. Les étrangers, les amis, ou les princesses, ah, les princes? = Guys, girls, that's not the question. Strangers, friends, or princesses, ah, princes?
> 
> À demain! = See you tomorrow!
> 
> Oui = Yes
> 
> Bon, moi aussi = Good, me too


	2. Midnight disturbances

It became the first, but definitely not the last time they ended up in bed together. Despite Reece assurance that Tony could tell whoever he wanted, Tony definitely didn’t want Adam to know, which suited Reece fine. It was a conversation he didn’t want to have with Adam either, and it only meant that they needed to play it cool for the 30 minutes or so when Adam was still lucid at the bar after work. Then Adam would soon disappear into the night and it was rare that he wanted their company and even rarer that they came with him. 

Reece assumed that both Max and Michel suspected something, definitely Max, but preferred not to know for sure. At work Reece and Tony were distant, almost like they didn’t know each other and Jean-Luc even told Reece once that he had to look after the young man. It was another night when Jean-Luc had asked Reece to stay behind in his office after hours, this time to discuss how he would put his spin on Christmas food despite that it was only early October. 

“I asked Adam, and he had some good ideas, but . . . I don’t think Christmas is that special to him. You are more . . . in touch with people.” Reece tried to take it as a compliment, and not translate it to that Jean-Luc thought his style was simply commercial. 

“Well, people want what they’ve always had, but they also like to be surprised,” he summed up after presenting his suggestions for the menu. He could imagine Adam’s problem. Tony had told Reece that Adam had had a very unhappy childhood. It had been a clear attempt to make Reece have some sympathy, and it had been clear as day to Reece that the little rich kid felt sorry for the cool stray. 

“Exactement,” Jean-Luc said with a hand pointing at the Christmas menu he had been working on. “Antoni said something similar.” He put his glasses on to study the menus further. “How do you think he’s getting on?”

“Tony?” Reece asked, wondering if he really was there to discuss menus. Jean-Luc nodded.

“I’ve noticed you have befriended him, keeping him out of trouble.” There was a small pause and Reece tried to decide if the pause had been intentional or not. “All of you . . . Adam especially.“ 

Reece had to think about. Adam was always the loudest and in everyone’s face. He joked around, and yes, he had joined the others’ competition for influence over their youngest member, though he wasn't sure what had given Jean-Luc the idea that they were keeping Tony out of trouble. 

“I promised his papa that I’d keep an eye on him. But he seems to be settling in well.” Reece figured that this conversation was Jean-Luc’s way of fulfilling that promise. Jean-Luc didn’t really keep an eye on anything expect for his restaurant. 

Maybe they should have kept more of an eye on each other. Tony was different. Looking after “Little Tony” was almost a game and he was the most reliable of the five of them that he didn’t really need looking after. The four chefs were friends, and there definitely was a camaraderie between them, but they also knew they were each other’s competition and most people quickly learned that where Adam was concerned, there wasn’t much you could do. 

-

Reece had been on his way to bed when Adam came home around one o’clock, early for being him, especially when it was Adam’s day off tomorrow. He was drunk, high, seemingly terrified and incoherent, but Reece still managed to get some words out of him, words like “party”, “girl”, “not breathing”, “ambulance” and “Little Tony”.

At the last two words, Reece interrupted him. “Was Tony at the party?” 

Tony had developed a bad habit of tailing Adam, something Adam often initially felt flattered by and encouraged, but he often ended up forgetting about Tony in the haze of party, sex, drugs and alcohol. At first Reece had thought it was because Tony, like many other people, found Adam exciting, but lately he’d started to suspect that Tony was falling in love with Adam. He’d asked Max if they should do something about it, talk to Tony or Adam or possibly Jean-Luc. Max had just told him that Tony was probably highly aware of the impossibility of something ever happening, and that if Tony and Reece were just two friends sleeping together, then Reece should stop acting like a jealous boyfriend. Reece had scoffed, saying he was a worried friend, not a jealous boyfriend, but decided to leave it alone. 

Adam shook his head and then stared straight ahead, like he was doing his outmost to focus. “Told him to go home.”

Reece sighed heavily, figuring that telling Tony to leave whatever drug den Adam called a party had been Adam’s attempt at protecting Tony. He reached for his phone. “You are a horror to everyone around you, do you know that? I’m going to text Tony.”

“No! Don’t! . . . He wasn’t . . . wasn’t there . . . stayed with Max.”

Reece lifted an eyebrow. “Then I’ll text Max.” Reliable as ever, Max replied within the minute. “Tony went after you shortly after you shouted at them and left them in the bar. Worried about you apparently.”

His voice didn’t lack sarcasm, but Adam didn’t hear him. Whatever adrenaline had managed to take him there and stay lucid enough to tell Reece what had happened had quickly subsided and now it was unclear if he knew where he was. 

The next half hour was spent trying to calm Adam down. It was impossible to figure out what he had taken, but Reece used various techniques of talking calmly, holding him down and shouting back at him, grateful that shouting was commonplace in the shabby building where they rented. Finally Adam had calmed down and Reece managed to get him into bed.

Then there was a banging on the door and within seconds Reece had opened, worried it would be an angry neighbour that would threaten to call the police. Instead he found Tony who must have thought that the flat was the most unlikely place to find Adam if he had been out looking for him most of the night.

Reece forced a shadow of a smile, trying to conceal how tired he was.

“Hi, Reece,” he mumbled, looking as tired as Reece felt. 

“Tony, hi, you’re looking for Adam?” Tony looked a bit surprised, but just nodded. Then he tried to get past Reece, but Reece put himself in the way, stopping Tony from entering the flat. 

Tony looked at him with ill concealed annoyance and clear worry. “I want to see him. I’ve been looking for him all night.”

Reece took a deep breath. All he wanted was to get some sleep. “Max texted me what happened . . . Tony, he’s drunk and he’s high. I’ve practically had to lock him up. Forgot where I keep my handcuffs,” he tried to joke with a small smile, but then turned serious. “I have it under control. You go home.”

Tony let out a big sigh, tired of everyone patronizing him, Little Tony running after Adam. “I’m a big boy, I can take it. So please move.”

Reece folded his arms, annoyed with drunken idiots who wouldn’t listen to him. Even if Tony hadn’t had that much to drink, he wasn’t sober. “Well, I’m not letting you in.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, I need to see him.” The panic was growing in Tony’s voice and Reece contemplated if he should at least let Tony into the flat before he woke any neighbours. His hesitation was enough for Tony who in those seconds managed to get past Reece into the flat. 

Reece hurried to close the door and grabbed hold of Tony’s shoulder to turn him around. He was bigger and stronger and there wasn’t much Tony could do.

“I just want to see that he’s ok. I know you want to protect me-”

Once again he was trying to get past the taller man, but Reece took a stronger hold of his arms, almost enough to hurt. “It’s not you I’m trying to protect, ok? He doesn’t want you to see him like this.”

Tears burned behind Tony’s eyes, making him force his face to look even sterner. “He doesn’t give a fuck about how I see him.”

Reece gave Tony a sad smile. “Adam’s a selfish bastard, but if he cares about anyone, he cares about you. And he does care what you think of him. Did you go after him to the party?” Tony nodded. “What happened?”

Tony shrugged. “I don’t know. When I got there the police were there and someone said there’d been an ambulance. I thought that maybe . . . But then Max texted me saying Adam had gone home. So I came here.” 

Reece wasn’t sure if he should be grateful or angry with Max, but figured it was inconsequential. “He’ll probably be out of it tomorrow. But it’s his day off so . . . I’ll make sure he’s at work on Tuesday.”

He paused for a second, and deciding that since they hadn’t heard Adam, it couldn’t do much harm, he took Tony’s hand and led Tony to Adam’s room. Carefully, he opened the door to show Tony a dishevelled snoring Adam properly tucked in under a duvet, a bucket next to the bed and a bottle of water on the nightstand. A tiny relieved smile appeared on Tony’s face and Reece closed the door again. 

“We both have work tomorrow. If you want to stay here, you can, or go home and get some sleep.”

Tony nodded. “I should go.” Then he leaned up and gave Reece a goodbye kiss. “Sorry for just barging in.”

Reece placed a hand in Tony’s hair. “You’re just being a good friend. Not that he deserves it. Text me when you’re back home.”

\- 

They never found out what happened to the girl that went to hospital. Adam acted like he couldn’t remember anything from that night, but it seemed to have shaken him because he calmed down his drinking and parting for a while, though by no means stopping it completely. Reece guessed it was a good thing, but it also meant that Adam spent more nights in their flat. 

Reece had taken Tony back to his and had him on his back on his bed. They hadn’t been that loud, but after Reece had managed to hit just the right spot, Tony let out a sudden loud gasp, which was immediately followed by three rapid bangs on the door.

“God dammit, Reece! Keep it down! Some of us are going to try to get some sleep!” He must’ve just gotten back. They kept still and absolutely quiet, hoping that Adam would go away, but he didn’t, apparently set on ruining Reece’s evening. He knocked on the door. “Reece, did you hear me?” Another demanding knock, but then his voice turned teasingly sweet. “Reece’s company? If you want the real deal, honey, you can always come next door.”

Reece rolled his eyes and put a finger to Tony’s mouth. Then he got out the bed and covered Tony with the duvet as he wrapped himself in a robe. He opened the door, just enough to get through it and then quickly closed it again, but Tony could hear every word through the thin walls.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Right, we were a bit loud, sorry. Now, piss off!” When he last saw Adam, he’d been on his way to another bar with Max and Michel. He’d hoped that he would stay out longer, preferably all night. 

“Who do you got in there?”

“None of your fucking business. God, just because you couldn’t lure some poor girl back to your bed, does not mean you’re allowed to ruin my night.”

“Why not? You ruined mine, I’ve been thinking all night what you did with that trout. Can’t believe I didn’t think of it first.”

Reece let out a heavy sigh. He had pitched a new dish to Jean-Luc. They dish had ended up as a tonight’s special and an important guest had demanded to meet the chef that’d made it. Adam had been green with envy. “Adam, you’ve got problems, serious problems. Now, go to bed. I promise, we’ll be quiet.”

Someone put his hand on the door handle and Tony made sure he was completely covered by the duvet. The door opened, and Tony heard Adam’s gleeful voice.

“Hi, darling, are you that girl from- Hey!” Then the door was shut with a bang and locked. 

“I’m sorry, that was Adam – my idiot of a flatmate,” Reece said, loud enough to make sure Adam could clearly hear it. Tony removed the duvet from his face, and Reece couldn’t help but smile at his dishevelled state. He slid back under the covers, giving Tony a long kiss. Tony kissed back, but barely that, and when Reece leaned back he knew the night was over. 

“I’m sorry,” Tony mumbled, barely audibly and Reece put his arms around him. 

“Don’t be silly, he’s a real turnoff,” Reece whispered back and placed a kiss on his temple. “He’s also steaming drunk. Will probably be asleep soon and you can sneak out . . . Unless you want to stay.” He knew he wouldn’t, but he thought he at least should offer. 

“Nah, I should go.”


	3. Dates

As it became clearer that Tony was falling in love with Adam, he and Reece spent less and less time together alone. Adam seemed to have gotten over the incident with the girl ending up in hospital and was back to having periods of partying all night and doing his shifts with the help of whatever he was taking in the bathroom when he thought nobody saw. Tony tried to make him behave and Reece, Max and Michel were all surprised that it sometimes worked.

They were at Le Saint Sauveur one night, having a couple of beers after cleaning up. It had gone well and they were all in a good mood. Michel and Max debated whether there was such as thing as ”Mediterranean food” while Adam and Reece were complaining to Tony that Jean-Luc wasn’t giving them enough freedom. They had a couple of more rounds and then Adam disappeared to the men’s. Reece saw Tony’s gaze following Adam. 

”Jean-Luc isn’t stupid. He’ll notice sooner or later.”

Tony looked at Reece like he was trying to understand what he was talking about. Then he shook his head and eagerly explained. “It’s just a difficult time for him. His . . . his mother’s birthday is coming up.” He then went on to explain to Reece that the drugs weren’t a real addiction, but just a crutch when Adam was going through a difficult time and all he really needed was support and good friends. 

Reece was about to explain to Tony what other people would call someone who used drugs as a ‘crutch’, but was interrupted by a loud laugh at the bar. 

The four of them turned their heads to see a black haired woman laughing at something Adam had said. Then she placed a hand on his arm, leaning over to say something. 

“Do we know her?” Michel asked with a smirk that told them he didn’t expect them to. Max and Reece shook their heads. Tony kept looking over at Adam.

“Do we know her, Tony?” Reece asked, lightening a cigarette, giving Tony a light push to get his attention. 

Tony quickly turned in his seat as though he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. “I . . . I think I’ve seen her in here before. Don’t know her.”

Adam nodded at whatever the woman had said and then went back to the others. 

“Right, I think I’m going to head,” he said absentmindedly, as though it wasn’t perfectly obvious why he was leaving. 

Michel smirked at him and raised a knowing eyebrow. “Really? So soon?”

Adam looked around, realised he was being obvious and gave a mischievous smile back.

“Yes, time to go. Don’t wait up, Reece,” he said teasingly. 

Reece blew out some smoke. “Is this what you call ‘looking for a new place’?”

Their lease was up in a month and was not being renewed. Reece had found an ok flat in the 10th where he would move in two weeks, but Adam still didn’t have a new place and had convinced Tony to let him store a few boxes at his places while he was looking. Reece wouldn’t have cared if it weren’t for the fact that he was a bit worried Adam would try to convince Tony to let him sleep on the couch, and that Tony would agree. 

“I’m working on it,” Adam said without conviction, reaching for his wallet on the table, but Tony quickly grabbed it and pulled it away from him. 

“Adam!” Tony hissed and Adam’s head jerked to look at him. “We have service tomorrow, and then the wedding reception.”

The owner of a perfume empire was getting married for the third time and had decided to have the wedding reception at Jean-Luc’s. It was going to be a big affair for Jean-Luc and the restaurant, both PR and money wise.

Adam looked at Tony, at first with cold annoyance, but then it melted away and he smiled. He put a hand on Tony’s shoulder and sat down next to him. 

“Little Tony, always so disapproving,” he gave him a one armed hug and kissed his cheek. “But absolutely right. What would I do if I didn’t have you to keep me in check, huh?”

“Adam!” The five men looked towards the woman still standing by the bar. Adam’s smile widened and he shook his head. 

“Boulot!” he called. The woman gave him the finger and left. Adam just laughed and turned to the others with pretended seriousness. “As Little Tony here would say, work must always come first. Isn’t that so, Tones?” Tony mumbled a reply and Adam lifted his glass. “To work ethic.”

At that the other four couldn’t help but laugh and they all raised their glasses for the miracle they’d just witnessed. Because of course, nine out of then times, Adam would go with the girl, no matter what Little Tony and his work ethic had to say about it. 

Reece was convinced that it was part of Adam’s manipulation technique, to be hot and cold, the picture of work ethic and then be two hours late to a shift. So it was no surprise to him that the night after the big wedding reception, Adam went off with Christine, one of the waitresses working at Jean-Luc’s. 

The four chefs, Tony and some other members of the staff had gone to Le Saint Sauveur as usual. Adam had most of the night’s service joked with Tony about work ethic, but then, after less than half an hour, Adam left with Christine who’d said she knew where there was a good band playing. Reece didn’t know if he thought it was cruel or an attempt at being thoughtful that Adam snuck away while Tony was in the men’s room. 

Tony came back to the table, scanning the room. “Where’s Adam?”

Reece was about to answer but Michel beat him to it. “Where do you think?” Michel had eventually also noticed Tony’s crush and though he didn’t want to be cruel, he understood it even less than Reece. 

Max moved over and patted on the seat next to him and Tony sat down. “It was inevitable. He’s played nice for almost a week now. If he’d kept it up much longer, Jean-Luc would have thought he’d been replaced by a robot. ”

Reece smirked and Michel chuckled, continuing Max’s joke. “Yes, and he’s probably willing to sacrifice a member of staff every now and then. What do you think? He’s been trying to get with her for about two weeks, which is a bit of an investment on his part . . . I give it another two weeks before Chrissie realises what a bastard he is and leaves in tears and Jean-Luc needs to get a new waiter. I have a friend who is looking for a job.”

Max shook his head. “Three weeks.” Michel and Reece looked at him with slight surprise and Max continued. “Easter is coming up, lots of work with all the tourists. It will take her an extra week to realise he’s not swamped with work but simply ignoring her. If she doesn’t catch him fucking someone else before then.”

“Don’t forget, he’s also looking for a new place.” Reece chipped in. They all knew Chrissie had a small flat on a comfortable distance from the restaurant. 

The three of them laughed, but not Tony. “Aren’t you supposed to be his friends?” he muttered. 

Reece saw that both Michel and Max were ready to take offence and decided to save the situation. He put a hand on Tony’s shoulder across the table and gave him a reassuring smile. “Of course we are. Adam is like a brother, you know that, a difficult narcissistic brother who can’t-“ He stopped himself. They all knew Adam well enough to know what he meant. “But you know, family.” Max put an arm around Tony and nodded in agreement, so did Michel, though somewhat reluctantly. “And we all know what he’s like, even you.”

Tony nodded. He knew, knew about the camaraderie in the kitchen he was only half allowed to be part of, slightly younger and separated by his status of being the son of one of Jean-Luc’s friends, and maybe most importantly, not really a chef. He put his head to the side and looked intensively at Reece. “And what about me, am I family?” He asked carefully.

Reece looked back solemn. “You are the prince dressed up as a pauper, mixing with the riff-raff . . . but yes, of course you’re family.” He took a look around at Max and Michel.

Max looked almost offended and gave Tony a playful push. “Course you are . . . stupido.” 

Michel laughed. “If Adam’s family, then you definitely are . . . and I think it’s your round.”

-

Looking back Reece would always say that he’d loved his years in Paris, but of course his world had been much smaller than the city of Paris. It consisted mainly of Jean-Luc’s restaurant, a couple of bars nearby and the small flats where he’d lived. There wasn’t time for much else and he sometimes admired Adam’s ability to have friends outside the kitchen, even if they often were simply party and drug related and people who he’d rarely know the names of. 

As Adam progressed he also started taking the job more and more seriously. It didn’t stop him from dating, he just started dating closer to home and suddenly the others would catch him making out with another member of staff during his smoking breaks. 

Max and Michel joked about it, but Reece could see how it affected Tony. It wasn’t jealousy as much as longing and it was painful to watch. To counter it, Reece encouraged him to date, dragging him to gay bars and clubs. Tony was a good looking guy and charming when he wanted to be, and there was often some guy, even if it never lasted long. They still ended up in bed together from time to time, but it became rarer and Reece soon decided that between boyfriends and Adam, him sleeping with Tony only added to Tony’s emotional confusion. 

He tried to do what everyone else seemed to be doing and tried to date more seriously. There were plenty of people out there, and some even understood the crazy hours of working in a kitchen. 

In the back of his head, Tony knew that Reece was seeing other people. On the night they first had sex, he had expressly said that he had sex with friends, which indicated more than one. And it wasn’t like Tony didn’t date others. Still, when he heard Adam tease Reece about seeing someone, he couldn’t believe anything other than that Adam had misunderstood. He was standing behind the door to the kitchen and could hear them talking. 

“Come on, Reece, when are you going to marry her?” Adam was acting like a five year old, playfully throwing a piece of the cut onion at Reece. When Adam was sober and well rested for a change, Reece really enjoyed his company.

“Shut up!” Despite the words, Reece tone was happy, and Tony could tell that Reece and Adam had one of their good days. “It’s a friend thing, that’s all.”

“We’re your only friends,” Adam declared and threw another piece of onion, which Reece managed to catch and throw in the trash. 

“Oh, then I really need new friends,” Reece answered with a laugh as Tony opened the door.

“Whom are we talking about?” Tony asked, carrying the bottles of alcohol used for the desserts, and both Reece and Adam looked up. Adam threw Reece a look, as though he wanted to check that it was alright to tell. Tony pretended not to notice, or that the older guys’ bond bothered him. Reece smiled in an affirmative.

“Eh . . . Reece has been spending a lot of time at the market lately,” Adam said, half serious, still looking at Reece, but then the teasing grin was back. “And he’s made a friend, so he asks Jean-Luc to let him come with every chance he gets. This market place just happens to be owned by a very pretty girl.”

“And her brother,” Reece quickly added, smiling down at the chopping board. “It’s a family business.”

Adam let out a laugh and winked at Tony. “Absolutely, family business, very convenient to sleep your way into owning a whole market. Now all you need is to marry to a restaurant and you’re all set. What do you think, Tones? Is Reece smart or what?”

Tony made himself smile back at Adam. He knew the siblings they were talking about. He had met them several times and had thought the brother really handsome, a tall guy with long black hair. 

“Very smart,” Tony agreed. But he didn’t want to appear completely clueless, so he followed Reece a couple of hours later when Reece went out the back for a quick smoke. 

“So how long have you been seeing him?” He made sure to sound interested and definitely not jealous, but Reece took a drag of the cigarette and raised an eyebrow. 

“How long have I been seeing who?” 

Tony took a step closer. “You know, Pascal.”

Reece let out a surprised laugh and took a quick look around to make sure they were alone. “I know I told you that I’m not exclusive, but seeing both brother and sister would be a bit kinky even for me. And as far as I know, Pascal’s straight.” It was Tony’s turn to look surprised and Reece quickly put two and two together. “I really am seeing Theresa, Tony. You’ve met her, she’s great, beautiful . . .”

“Right,” Tony answered, not really knowing what to say. 

“Does it bother you that I’m seeing someone? Or is it that she’s a woman?” It wasn’t very farfetched that Reece had made Tony feel less alone in the otherwise very straight kitchen. 

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I thought you were seeing that Swedish guy . . . Alex?”

“Axel,” Tony corrected him absentmindedly, “no, that’s over”.

“What happened?” Tony didn’t answer and Reece made a tired guess. “Adam?” 

Tony had invited guys to have a drink with them before, but it never seemed to go well. Either Adam was there and in a generous mood and Tony would end up ignoring the guy he’d brought. Or Adam would be in a terrible mood, bullying anyone and everyone around him, something that rarely went down well with Tony’s dates. 

“So will we be seeing her around then?” Tony asked, but didn’t look at Reece.

“I don’t think so . . .” There was an unspoken rule that you did not introduce girlfriends to Adam, for the same reasons Tony should have avoided bringing guys he’d dated, and with the girlfriends Adam might also try to sleep with them. 

Reece approached Tony and looked toward the building. He couldn’t see anyone, so he took Tony’s hand and took him to a side ally where they couldn’t be seen from the restaurant. “Have I handled this badly, Tony?”

They had drifted apart lately. Reece put more and more effort into his work and between that and Theresa, there hadn’t been much time. Tony’s workload had also increased and on top of that he did his best to keep an eye on Adam. 

They’d never had a relationship, so they hadn’t had any obligations to each other, but maybe that was part of the problem. If you were never together, you couldn’t break up. 

Tony smiled at Reece’s concern and shook his head. “No, I . . . I was a bit surprised, that’s all. If even Adam knows, it must be pretty official.” 

And that might have been what hurt. They’d never been together, but Tony thought he would know something like this before Adam did. But then, he hadn’t told Reece about Axel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boulot = job/work


	4. Endings and beginnings

Reece had almost completely stopped going out with the others. All his time seemed to be either working, networking or sleeping, and the late nights with the guys had diminished to once a fortnight. 

One evening, when he could barely remember the last time he’d been out drinking with the guys, he got a text from Max saying that he should go to the Saint Sauveur and talk to Tony. 

*I’d talk to him, but I think he needs you*

Reece found him at the bar and no matter how hard Tony tried to hide it, it was evident that he was close to tears. 

“I was told I would find you here . . . Oh God, what did he do now?” Reece tried to sound sympathetic, and not upset. Whenever Tony was upset these days, it always came down to Adam, but the specific reason could be anything from Adam having said something particularly mean, to just Adam leaving in the middle of conversation to go off with some new girl. Sometimes Reece wondered if Tony would ever be that upset over him, but quickly shook it off, knowing he had decided on the role of supportive friend and not jealous lover, especially since he had started seeing Theresa. Though he had Theresa had decided to call it quits a couple of weeks earlier, not that he had told anyone. 

Tony just shook his head, and that’s when Reece knew it was something bad. Most often Tony would willingly admit what stupid thing Adam had done while calling him all sorts of names. Avoidance suggested something worse than Adam’s usual crap. 

Reece put a comforting arm around him. “Has he done something particularly bad, or has Adam just been Adam?” He placed a quick kiss on Tony’s temple, trying to coax the truth out of him. “Come on, you can tell me. What did he do?”

Tony wouldn’t look at him, but he leaned into the embrace and then he mumbled almost directly into Reece’s ear, “Do you think . . . Do you think Adam would ever,” he took a deep breath. “Ever have sex for money, or, you know . . . drugs?”

For a short second Reece contemplated if Tony thought he could successfully indirectly proposition Adam, but then quickly realised it had been the other way around, and probably, knowing Adam, very direct. Everyone in the kitchen knew that Tony came from money and could live far better than only his salary from the restaurant would have allowed, but this was well out of order.

“Oh for fuck sake, please tell me he didn’t.” Tony made a shudder and Reece took a firmer hold around him. “Of course he fucking did,” he muttered before trying to sound more comforting. “Tony, don’t listen to him. He doesn’t mean it.” He searched to catch Tony’s eye and found something bordering on panic. Tony wasn’t just hurt, he was worried about his friend. 

Reece hurried to reassure him, both that Adam hadn’t meant that he would prostitute himself, but also that it hadn’t been just a cruel joke. “If Adam honestly thought about prostituting himself, he would be in far less debt than he is now. He’s messing with you.”

“He seemed . . .” Tony’s voiced cracked and Reece never heard what Adam had seemed. 

“Listen, you and I are going out tonight. I’ll be wingman and we’ll go to Marais, find you the best looking guy in Paris.”

It was a good promise and after another two drinks he managed to persuade Tony to come with him. Unfortunately, it seemed like tonight was the night of fools and idiots, and several times he ended up having to save Tony from unwanted advances. One guy in particular just wouldn’t back off and finally Reece was fed up and put an arm around Tony’s waist and almost shouted at the man with a proper Welsh accent. 

“Pal, maybe you don’t speak ‘polite’, but what he meant was, ‘fuck off!’. He’s with me, and if you don’t back off and leave my boyfriend alone, I’ll punch your face so hard you’ll see stars.” The guy threw him a dirty look, it was unclear if he had actually understood what Reece had said, but did eventually go away. Reece turned to Tony with an apologetic look. “Sorry,” he said, figuring his shouting had scared off any potential suitors, but Tony didn’t seem to mind.

“Don’t worry, it’s actually a bit fun . . . having people fight over you.” And for the first time that evening, Reece saw Tony smile. He smiled back and leaned forward. 

“You should have guys fighting over you all the time. Come on, let’s dance.” He took Tony by the hand and dragged him out on the dance floor. At first reluctant, but Tony eventually eased into the slow music and Reece’s strong arms, relaxing in the familiarity.

“I know I’m pathetic,” Tony told Reece as they were making their way home. Reece laughed and put an arm around him.

“You’re not pathetic, you’re . . . in love. You just happen to have bad taste in men . . . some would even say ‘terrible’.” He placed a kiss in Tony’s hair. There were sounds of people, but no one in sight. “I’ve been thinking about kissing you all night. Is that ok?” He had been thinking about other things too, but had always tried to at least act like a gentleman.

A bit surprised at first, Reece had never been shy around him, but then Tony slowly nodded. Reece leaned down to kiss him. Slowly, but then more intensely, letting his tongue slip into Tony’s mouth, pressing him towards the wall. “It’s my day off tomorrow.” Reece told him between kisses. “Let’s go back to yours.”

For a second Tony thought about asking about Theresa, but decided against it. They went back to Tony’s tiny studio, but at least it was tidy and he didn’t share with anyone. Tony tried to offer coffee, but soon they were kissing again and undressing each other on the single bed. 

Afterwards Tony was lying closer to the wall, his arms around Reece, and his nose in Reece’s hair. “So what about Theresa?”

Reece turned and released himself from Tony, looking down on him with an unreadable expression. “We’re done . . . What about Adam?”

As though caught in a lie, Tony took a shaky breath, and Reece moved to put his arms around him, caressing him, kissing him. Tony placed his face in the crock of Reece’s neck, letting the tears fall, while being in the safe warm protective space. 

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. 

“No, no, Tony, don’t be sorry. Shh, why should you be sorry? I know you’re in love with him. That’s why I took you out, remember, to cheer you up.” As he said it, he half hoped that Tony would hear how screwed up it was that that would be the reaction, that he would comfort him over some other guy after they’d just had sex. 

“It’s not fair.” Reece chose to believe that Tony meant that it wasn’t fair to him, Reece, rather than that Tony thought it unfair that Adam Jones didn’t love him back. 

“It’s ok. It’s going to be alright,” he promised, continuing letting his hands travel over Tony’s back.

There were a couple of minutes of silence when Tony’s tears subsided and they found their way back to a comfortable embrace.

“Max says you’ve gotten offers.” 

Reece sighed. He knew he’d regret telling Max about that job offer. Max was smart enough to know that if one restaurant had talked to him, then there were probably others as well.

“A couple,” he admitted. “I’m not seriously considering any of them.” He didn’t tell Tony that was mostly because he thought he could get better ones. “Sooner or later Jean-Luc will have to choose his head-chef.” At the moment, Jean-Luc had unofficially let Adam and Reece share that position, something that could only end in disaster. 

“It could be you,” Tony said, but Reece didn’t answer. He was definitely a better, more consistent chef than Adam, but he suspected that Jean-Luc thought he saw something in Adam, a diamond in the rough, an undiscovered genius. After a while, Tony continued. “If he chose Adam, would you leave?”

“I can’t just be treading water . . . But I haven’t decided anything yet.” Reece made a silent promise to himself that when he left, he would do his best to take Tony with him.

Part of him thought that he stood a chance becoming Jean-Luc’s head chef. It was clear to everyone that Adam was getting worse again. It wasn’t that his cooking was affected, he was actually better than ever, but they all knew he wasn’t sleeping and he was very rarely sober. Tony did his best, but it was only a matter of time before Jean-Luc had to notice.

It culminated in a full-blown fistfight between Reece and Adam in the middle of service. By then it had been clear that Jean-Luc had chosen Adam, but Reece insisted that when he was leading the shift, Adam had to listen to him. An argument had occurred and Adam forgot that it wasn’t his shift. Max and Michel quickly managed to split them up, Adam was taken out in the back and Reece managed to finish the shift without the guests ever noticing.

Straight after service ended, Reece went to Jean-Luc’s office and told him that there was no way that he and Adam could continue working together. For once, Jean-Luc didn’t argue or said that all passionate chefs fight, but agreed. For a second Reece thought that maybe Jean-Luc had now realised that Adam was a ticking bomb and had decided that Reece was the man for the job. That thought was swiftly vanquished the next second when Jean-Luc promised him that Reece would have his best recommendations and all of his international network to his disposal when looking for a new job.

“Any restaurant will be lucky to have you.” 

Reece kept the tone civil, saying he was grateful, and he was sure he would soon have a new position. He went back to the kitchen, briefly explained what had happened and then told everyone that they were all welcome to join him for a couple of rounds at a bar around the corner.

Adam wasn’t there. After the fight, Adam had been kicked out of the kitchen and no one really knew where he’d gone off to. Michel, Max and Tony went with the others to the bar, a slightly bigger and classier place than Le Saint Sauveur, but soon enough Tony left. He had barely spoken to anyone since he ordered his first glass of wine and was visibly shaken by the evening’s events. Reece saw him go and gestured for Max to follow him. Max nodded and went after Tony. 

He caught up with him in the street. “Little guy, aspetta!” Tony slowed down and Max placed an arm around him, but continued walking. “So, where are we going?”

Tony just shook his head, and Max dragged him into the nearest bar, a small shabby place where he quickly ordered a bottle of cheap wine and two glasses of vodka. 

“To the future,” Max said and made Tony down the vodka. “Come on, little guy, you’re taking this worse than Reece . . . I thought you’d prefer this solution.”

“I . . . I don’t know,” Tony finally admitted. “I guess I figured that it just as easily could go either way. Poor Reece,” he mumbled.

Max poured them the wine. “Well, what about me and Michel, we weren’t even in the race.” Tony looked up with an apologetic look. It had been obvious for such a long time that it would either be Reece or Adam, but of course Max and Michel had started around the same time with similar ambitions. Max kept talking. “And what about me? I now owe Michel 50 euros.”

“You thought it would be Reece?” Tony asked almost surprised. 

Max shrugged. “I just thought that Adam would have jumped on some crazy offer by now, you know, like a restaurant on the moon or something.”

“But not Michel?” Tony asked and took a mouthful of the wine. He almost spat it out and had to force himself to swallow. “This wine is disgusting.”

Max laughed. “You can buy the next bottle . . . Michel said that Jean-Luc would make the assumption that Reece could make it anywhere, while as Adam’s ‘genius’ requires ‘special conditions’.” Neither of them said what that really meant, that Jean-Luc trusted Reece to not start a fight in someone else’s kitchen. “It doesn’t matter, I’ll soon win them back.” Tony looked expectantly at him and Max explained. “Michel thinks Reece now will open his own restaurant. He’s projecting. Reece wants a star more than he wants his own restaurant. He’ll go somewhere that can help him with that.” Max hesitated. “We didn’t bet on what you would do. You’ll stay, won’t you?”

“Yes, of course I’ll stay.” Where would he go? “You don’t think he’ll leave Paris?”

“Going home you mean? Would you?” Tony shook his head. Reece had all his contacts in Paris and had to stay if he wanted to use Jean-Luc’s network. 

Tony didn’t realise how long they’d been sitting there until Reece turned up. Max looked up at him. 

“You’ve left your own goodbye party?”

Reece shook his head. “They don’t know if they should be sad for me or happy for Adam.” He knew they would be celebrating with Adam the next day when he’d realised he was Jean-Luc’s new head-chef. “The King’s dead, long live the King and all that . . . Do you mind if I talk to Tony alone? There are still some people left there if you want to continue the evening.”

“Sure,” Max said, knowing it wasn’t really a question, rose and grabbed his jacket. Then he took hold of Reece’s arm and looked him deep in the eye. “We’ll miss you,” he said and gave him a hug. “Keep in touch, yeah.” Then he looked at Tony like he was about to say something, but decided against it and left. 

Reece sat down where Max had been sitting. “Had I known what was going to happen tonight, I would have given you a heads up.”

“Can’t you talk to Jean-Luc?”

Reece sighed and leaned back, taking a sip of Max’s wine glass. “I have talked to him. He feels bad, and he’ll do everything he can for me, but he’s chosen Adam . . . I brought it on myself. I knew whoever raised the question first would be asked to leave.”

It wasn’t completely true. He had thought that maybe Jean-Luc would see reason after Adam had punched someone in the kitchen. But part of him had also thought that Adam would throw a fit and give Jean-Luc an ultimatum. 

“So what will you do now?”

Reece lit a cigarette. “I guess I’ll advance in my career. Become head-chef somewhere . . . Don’t look at me like that.” Tony had given him a look filled with worry and sympathy. They both knew what a ruthless business they were in and if Reece wanted a job equal to or better than the one he had had at Jean-Luc’s he needed contacts and a good bit of luck. 

“It will be fine, Tony. I’ll be fine.” It was said with an overconfidence they both knew he needed now. Then he stood up and Tony walked him out. When they were approaching Tony’s place when Reece made it clear that they would not spend the night together. 

“This is where I need to get to mine.”

Tony nodded. “Max’s right though? We’ll see you around?” But of course Reece wouldn’t be around. Adam would make sure of it, and Reece would spend all his time looking for a new job. 

Reece cradled Tony’s face and tilted it up. “You have my number and you know where I live.” He leaned in and kissed him and then left him standing in the street.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aspetta! = wait up!


	5. New beginnings

They didn’t hear from Reece for a while, and they were all busy with the changes at Jean-Luc’s. Adam rose to the challenge of becoming head-chef. He was a demanding leader, but most of the staff thought that it was better now when they only had one head-chef to listen to. Max and Michel were informally promoted to Adam’s right and left hand men, and Tony got an actual promotion. He had been training as a sommelier for a while and now Jean-Luc had promoted him to be one of the restaurant’s four captains. 

The added workload was so much they didn’t even go to Le Saint Sauveur, but jus went between work and sleep, trying to live up to Jean-Luc’s high standards. One afternoon before dinner service, Jean-Luc asked Tony to come into his office. 

“Tu as une nouvelle pour moi?” Tony looked unsure and then shook his head. “Ton père m’a appelé.”

“Merde! J’en ai oublié. C’est ce soir. Je suis très . . .” Jean-Luc interrupted him. 

“Oui, c’est soir, avec Henri Dupré . . .” Tony hurried to defend himself. 

“Je suis très content ici. Ce n’est pas un entretien. C’est juste mon père qui . . .” 

“Oui, oui, je sais . . . J'envoie mes meilleurs vœux. Allez-y!” Tony was about to disagree, thought better of it and was about to head out when Jean-Luc called him back. “Oh, Antoni!” Tony turned “Tu peux emmener Reece. Il a besoin d’un boulot. À demain!” Then he waved him off and Tony ran out the restaurant while trying to find his phone. 

He hadn’t completely forgot that his dad was coming to Paris and that they would have dinner with Henri Dupré, former part owner of Four Seasons Hotel George V. He’d just thought it was tomorrow. He also thanked his lucky star that Jean-Luc knew his dad and had sent him off instead of firing him. 

He called his dad first, who gave him a scolding for not answering his phone and then told him to meet them at the hotel, of course they were going to eat at Le Cinq. When Tony asked if he could bring someone his dad went quiet for a second and then said that of course he could bring someone.

“Un amigo . . . o un novio?”

He was pretty sure his dad could hear the eye rolling through the phone. They often mixed languages, but this was something his Papa would only ask in Spanish. “Un colega, Papa. Gracias.” Then he hung up and called Reece. Reece answered after the second dial. 

“Tony, hi, it’s been a while.”

Tony didn’t feel he had time for small talk. “What are you doing tonight?”

“Eh . . . nothing planned.”

“My father is in town, he and Henri Duprés have invited me for dinner. Want to come?”

“Yes, sure, of course, where and when?”

Tony gave him the time and address of the hotel where his father was staying. Reece turned up on time dressed to perfection in a well-cut dark suit and tie. Mr Balerdi immediately complemented the suit, happy that some people still knew how to dress up for dinner. 

“I don’t know what’s happened to London. When I was young, if you went to a nice restaurant, you dressed up.”

Tony wasn’t at all surprise that Reece got along well with his father. They had a lot in common and Reece had since he quit Jean-Luc turned networking into an art form. Tony wouldn’t be surprised if at the end of the evening, his dad would want to offer Reece a job. 

They went to the restaurant and Tony didn’t know what his dad had told Henri Dupré, or possibly what Jean-Luc had told Henri Dupré, because he talked to Reece a lot. He asked him about working in Paris, working at Jean-Luc’s, what he thought about the future, where he saw himself in ten years. Eventually, at the end of the main course, Henri turned to Tony and asked him about his career plans, but it was not what Tony had expected.

“And you, Antonio, when are you going to return to London and help your father? I hear you are doing excellent work here in Paris. You’ll soon be ready to go home.” Tony looked in surprise at his father and Reece looked apprehensively at Tony. 

“I-I am not sure. I was just given a promotion, so I’d like to explore that a bit.”

Tony’s father looked at his son with slight surprise and Tony avoided his father’s gaze. He hadn’t told him about the promotion. Henri looked from Tony to his friend to Reece and then turned to Reece with a guilty smile. 

“I’m afraid I stepped in it now . . . I’m sorry, Antonio, I did not mean to make this difficult for you. Your father is a very good father, wanting you to try your wings, but . . .” He turned to Reece. “Did you know your friend here is the heir to one of the finest hotels and restaurants in northern Europe?”

Reece made a gentle smile, looking at Tony. “I did . . . I also know that at the moment Tony is enjoying Paris, and Jean-Luc is a great employer.”

“And still you’re looking for a new position,” Henri said and took the opportunity to steer the conversation so it returned to be about Reece and Reece’s future. 

Tony saw the meaningful glance his dad sent Reece. He looked at Tony, clearly wondering if this man were the reason he wouldn’t leave Paris. Tony shook his head slightly. 

After the dessert, Reece had excused himself to go to the men’s room and Henri had to take a phone call. Tony’s father leaned across the table to his son. 

“So you are staying then?” He asked gravely. 

Tony made a small huffing sound. “You make it sound like I’m emigrating to America. I’m three hours away by train.”

“Working in Jean-Luc’s kitchen, you might as well be in America.” He was displeased with him and Tony tried to be strong, to not give in and not feel guilty about his decision. 

He only half managed it. “I’ve talked to Jean-Luc about going home for Christmas,” he mumbled.

“I would be very happy to have you for Christmas . . . Your friend is very nice.” Tony gave his father a look that he was really too old to give him. “Henri seems impressed with him.”

“Don’t you think he should be?” Tony asked innocently, but his father ignored the remark.

“Jean-Luc called me about him a couple of weeks ago. ‘Excellent chef, a lot of ambition, but not unreasonable’,” he quoted and then smiled at Tony. “Then he added that I wouldn’t even have to teach him English . . . Do you think he would do well at the Langham?”

Later, years and years later, Tony would look back at this as a sort of ‘Sliding Doors’-moment. What if he had told his father “Yes, I’ll come home and work at the Langham, and you should hire Reece as your head-chef”?

“I told Jean-Luc I wasn’t in need of a new chef at the moment . . . I guess you’d prefer it if he stayed here in Paris.”

Tony knew he was being selfish, so fucking selfish. The Langham was a great place to work, a career move, but he had just lost Reece in the kitchen. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like if Reece left Paris. 

“You know there’s a job at home the second you want it,” his father tried in a softer tone and Tony made a slight nod. 

“I know . . . but don’t leave it open for me. I’m here now and I’m planning on being here for a while.”

“What was the name of that other chef you spoke so highly of?”

“Adam,” Tony mumbled and then cleared his throat and spoke up. “Adam Jones, he’s Jean-Luc’s new head chef.”

Tony’s father nodded. “So I heard.”

“If you’ve heard then why did you ask me?” Tony snapped, but then saw Henri coming back and decided to behave. 

“I apologise, business never sleeps.” He sat down and noticing that Reece was still gone, he turned to Tony in earnest. “I am going to be frank with you, Antonio. Jean-Luc would never forgive me for stealing good talent away. And your father would never forgive me for keeping you from London longer than necessary. Still, business is business, from what I hear, you are very talented and I’d match whatever salary you have at the moment.”

“I am very flattered, of course, but I will have to decline your offer.” Henri’s eyes hardened and Tony realised that even though Henri might have expected him to decline, he should have done so more humbly. “I mean . . . I couldn’t do that to Jean-Luc,” he mumbled.

Henri nodded. “Talented and loyal, my loss, I’m sure . . . You’ll be very valuable to someone some day, un maître du monde.”

“Ah, de Paris,” Tony’s father corrected his friend. 

Henri just smiled at him. “Same thing.” Then he turned back to Tony. “Careful, your father is trying to make a better position for negotiating your salary.”

Tony forced a laugh and was grateful that Reece chose that moment to return to the table. 

When the dinner was done, the two older gentlemen said that they were going to have a nightcap in the hotel bar. The younger men took the hint and thanked them for a lovely dinner and then left the hotel. 

“Take a walk with me,” Reece asked and Tony accepted. 

The walked along the Seine, there were barely any people and the air was warm. 

“Your father is very nice,” Reece started and Tony immediately felt guilty for not having told his father that he should hire Reece. “Think he likes me?”

“Do you want to leave Paris?” he asked, his voice more serious than he should have liked. 

Reece looked a bit surprised. “I wasn’t fishing for a job . . . though that seems to be all I do now . . . Don’t worry, I’m in no rush to leave Paris. I was just wondering.”

“Of course he liked you,” Tony answered almost harshly. Then he blushed. “I think he suspects that there is something going on between us.”

“Why? Just because he knows you’re gay and you brought an amazing looking man for dinner?” Reece teased and Tony couldn’t help but smile.

“Something like that . . . even though you spent the whole evening talking to Henri,” Tony teased back.

“Well, I couldn’t disappoint you.” Reece put his arm around him. “Wasn’t that the point of this evening?” Then he turned a bit more serious. “With a bit of luck, I managed to impress him enough for him to mention my name to someone.”

“I’m sure you managed to impress him.”

Tony hoped that this night would end differently than the last time he saw Reece. So when they reached his flat, he leaned up to kiss him. 

“Come up with me,” he said and Reece didn’t need more convincing. 

It wasn’t until Tony could feel Reece’s hands all over him that he realised how much he had missed him. He had had a couple of one night stands since the last saw each other, but no repeats, no one who knew him and knew his body. 

Afterwards they lay next to each other, catching their breaths. 

“That . . . that was amazing,” Reece smiled. “I must admit, when you seemed so troubled over that your father might think we were a couple, I thought it was because you’d met someone.” He bit his tongue. “Not that . . . not that I don’t want you to.” He turned to Tony. “I just hoped that if you did that, or decided to go to London, or something, that you would tell me.”

“I wasn’t sure you’d want to do this again,” Tony admitted. “I wanted that last time too, you know.”

Reece almost looked guilty. “Yes, I know . . . I wanted it too, but I was afraid it would be like a goodbye. I had all kinds of bad thoughts that night.”

Tony looked sceptical. “Really? I couldn’t tell . . . I mean, of course it was . . .”

Reece smiled again, but this time it was a knowing smile. “That’s because you think someone having bad thoughts looks like Adam.”

A month later a very satisfied Jean-Luc announced to Tony that Reece had gained a position at the Four Seasons. Six months later, Reece was the new head-chef, and around the same time Adam was awarded his first star.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tu as une nouvelle pour moi - Do you have news for me?
> 
> Ton père m’a appelé - Your father called me
> 
> Merde! J’en ai oublié. C’est ce soir. Je suis très - Fuck! I forgot. It's tonight. I'm very 
> 
> Oui, c’est soir, avec Henri Dupré - Yes, it's tonight, with Henri Dupré
> 
> Je suis très content ici. Ce n’est pas un entretien. C’est juste mon père qui - I am very happy here. It's not an interview. It's just my father who
> 
> Oui, oui, je sais . . . J'envoie mes meilleurs vœux. Allez-y! - Yes, yes, I know . . . Send them my best. Go!
> 
> Tu peux emmener Reece. Il a besoin d’un boulot. À demain! - You can bring Reece. He needs a job. See you tomorrow!
> 
> Un amigo . . . o un novio? - A friend . . . or a boyfriend?
> 
> Un colega, Papa. Gracias - A colleague, Papa. Thank you
> 
> un maître du monde - A master/maître d' of the world
> 
> Ah, de Paris - Ah, of Paris


	6. Last night in Paris

They had gotten the old gang back together, or rather Max had managed to get everyone except Adam for a final night out at Le Saint Sauveur. It started out as a nice evening, everyone buying a round because, as Max had put it, they wanted to make sure Reece didn’t remember Paris too soberly. A few beers in, when Max and Michel were deep in conversation about a woman standing by the bar, Reece made a last half-hearted attempt to convince Tony to come back with him.

“I’ve outgrown this city, so have you. It’s not like you’re learning anything new, you’re just treading water.“

Tony smiled at what he interpreted to be a compliment. He had worried what it would be like when Reece eventually left Paris, bur right now he was just happy for him. “Yes, maybe.” 

“So come with me to London. They’d be lucky to have you.” All his previous sober attempts had been much more articulate, filled with rational arguments about how Tony should develop his talents somewhere where there wasn’t a Jean-Luc who expected him to spend 50% of his time making sure Adam was in the kitchen and sober enough to know pepper from chilli. This was just so that he could tell himself that at least he’d tried. Unfortunately, Max overheard him and quickly dropped his debate with Michel, who went to get them another round and possibly get the woman’s phone number. 

“Oh, for Christ’s sake, Reece. He’s turned you down more times than Adam’s shot up. Give it a rest.” He then turned to Tony and ruffled the young man’s hair as though he’d still been a kid. “Besides, if Little Tony goes, who’s going to handle Adam for us?”

Tony tried to hide his blush with a big sip of his wine. Reece decided to have mercy on him and turned to Max. 

“Adam is a sinking ship and you’ll all go down with him.”

Max was undisturbed and made a smirk that wasn’t just friendly. “Are you sure you’re not just saying that because you’re jealous that he got his Michelin star before you did?”

It was true that Adam had been, according to Reece, undeservedly successful. There was no denying that he was extremely talented and with a team like Michel, Max, Tony and Jean-Luc’s restaurant he had been all set for a Michelin star, which he had also gotten. So had Reece, but a year after Adam, at the restaurant at the Four Seasons. 

Despite that Adam had expressly forbidden them to, they had all stayed in touch with Reece. Going out for drinks every now and then, sometimes Adam would even go with them. Tony had secretly hoped that working at different places would allow Adam and Reece to become closer again, like they had been in the beginning, but no such luck.

“I’ll get my second before he does,” he said, sounding much more cocky than he felt. Just getting one star had been a dream come true. Getting a second almost felt like close to an impossibility.

Max’s smirk softened into a smile. “Is that what London will do for you?” Technically, the Four Seasons in Paris was lending Reece to its London sister, but they all knew that Reece wasn’t coming back. He’d been talking about going home for over a year now, but Reece had told only Tony that he considered this his “transitioning back to London”. 

Reece was about to answer when Michel returned with four glasses of red wine. “I think you have the right idea, Reece. I’ve got plans for a restaurant of my own.” 

Four surprised eyes looked at Michel, letting Reece know that he was the only one who had heard this before now. 

“You’re leaving Jean-Luc’s?” Tony asked in a mixture between surprise and worry. Handling Adam and making sure that he could soar was all about keeping a very fine balance. Any change in circumstance risked disturbing that balance. 

“Thinking about it,” Michel admitted. 

Max looked from Michel to Tony. “Don’t tell Adam,” he advised. Adam did not handle abandonment well. It was clear any time someone mentioned Tony’s dad’s hotel and restaurant and asked when Tony would start working there, or when people asked Max if he considered going back to Italy. Even though neither had any plans on leaving Paris, Adam would be moody for days, making comments and remarks about loyalty and taking things seriously. 

“Well, it’s still just plans at the moment,” Michel said and raised his glass. “Not like our brave friend here, crossing the channel for new adventures. A toast, to our comrade, Reece. May he find happiness in knowing he’ll always have Paris, fortune in his future endeavours in London, and peace in knowing Adam won’t follow, lest he be too far away from his favourite dealers.”

Max raised his glass smiling at Reece. “To a second star.”

“To success,” Tony added and they let their glasses clink. 

The evening continued in a similar fashion, till a couple of minutes to twelve when Adam finally turned up, clearly drunk and probably high. It was unclear if he remembered there would be a goodbye drink for Reece, or if he had just coincidently turned up at the bar. He took a look around, and then caught sight of them, first Max, then Tony, then Michel, and finally Reece. At the sight of Reece his expression turned mad and he stumbled over to them. 

“You fucking traitor!” He was loud, but not loud enough to alert the bartender. Reece rose from his seat and unconsciously took a step closer to Tony. 

“I’ll miss you too, Adam.” The sarcasm was not lost on Adam, who got a mean look in his eye, but at least he lowered his voice. 

“Oh, fuck off! I told Jean-Luc what you were trying to do.” Four pairs of confused eyes looked back at him. “Trying to poach Little Tony from us before running off to fucking ‘London’.” He pronounced ‘London’ with a horrible imitation of a British accent. “Is that how you thank the man who gave you everything?”

“He gave me a good start, and I thank him for that, but wouldn’t say he gave me everything. That he did for you, for all the good it’s done him.” Michel and Max slowly stood up, not completely sober themselves, trying to figure out exactly what and how much Adam had had. 

Adam and Reece rarely fought, mostly because Reece was too good at not losing his temper and actually cared about people around him even when he was drunk. Not to mention that they had barely seen each other since Reece left the restaurant. But Jean-Luc picking the unreliable talented Adam over the consistent, and arguably equally talented, Reece, had always been a sore point. 

Adam looked triumphant, as though Reece had stepped into a trap. “You ungrateful son of a bitch.” He shook his head. “But that’s why you’re running away, and the only reason you’re trying to take him with you.” He nodded at Tony, who was trying to pretend he wasn’t there. “Admit it! You’ve tired of those fancy hotels and now you’re hoping you can get his dad’s restaurant instead of Jean-Luc’s. That’s low, even for you.”

And that Reece had had enough. “Ok, that’s it, shut up! The only parasite here is you! I mean, look at you!” 

It all happened so quickly and it was later unclear who had thrown the first punch. Before any of the other three could stop them, the two men were in a proper fight, and the bartender had to come out and push them towards the side door, out into the alley. 

Michel muttered something about not wanting to get involved, but Tony hurried after them and Max felt he couldn’t leave it all to the kid. Both Adam and Reece were bleeding, but Reece clearly had the upper hand when he pushed Adam into the cement wall, ready to throw another punch. Max got hold of Reece’s waist and dragged him off Adam, who slid down the wall to sit on the pavement. Tony rushed over to him, kneeling by his side, asking if he was ok. 

Adam turned to him, blood trailing down his face from a wounded eyebrow. He reached out, took hold of Tony’s shirt and dragged him closer, not really looking at him. 

“You are not leaving me, are you?” He sounded so insecure, almost hurt. 

“No, no, of course not, no,” Tony quickly reassured him, his voice shaking a bit. Reece made another attempt to get to Adam, but Max held him back. 

“The restaurant, Jean-Luc . . . we couldn’t do it without you,” Adam panted, throwing a look at Reece and for a moment it was unclear who he was talking to. Reece wondered if he’d been closer to convince Tony to come with him than he’d thought, or if this was just Adam’s drug induced paranoia.

“I’m here, Adam.” Hearing his name, Adam looked back at Tony with piercing blue eyes serious as the grave. He let go of the shirt and moved his hand to Tony’s cheek, pulling him even closer.

“Little Tony,” he mumbled. “You mustn’t leave me.” The words sounded harsh, almost threatening, but were made soft by Tony putting his hand over Adam’s.

“I am not going anywhere.”


End file.
